Finding Monsters Read Free Page B

wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. He rocks me like a child and strokes my back.
    “Why am I not dead?” I ask, my voice muffled against his strong shoulder, for I should be dead. F a ther is silent for several minutes before he speaks, his voice barely a whisper.
    “If your mother and I had not found you in time you would be dead. You broke the rules, son. You should have let the h u man child die. Why didn’t you come to us for help?”
    My father’s words seep through the fog in my brain. They are like a faint flutter that keeps getting louder and louder. F i nally, the meaning rings clear but they can’t be true. “Father, Missy is dead. My human is dead.”
    “Your human lives because you live, son.”
    I pull back from him and stare. “F a ther, I watched her die. I held her for two days in the cemetery until her human body arrived. I carried her  … ” I break off in a choked sob. The pain of losing her is heavy, r e stricting my breath. I gulp air as if I’m drowning. Father tries to calm me. He lays me back on my pi l low and wipes the hair and tears from my eyes.
    “Listen to me, son. When you touched the human child, she became bound to you forever. In the human realm she was stronger because of your strength. Now, because you are back in our world, your power and strength are limited. You are only as strong as she is.”
    “Father, I need to see her! She’ll be scared! I need to tell her it’s ok.”
    “She is being kept in sleep for now. Once you are rested and feeling stronger, I will take you to her. Please rest now and we’ll talk later.” Father takes a cup from the side table and helps me drink its contents. The thick liquid taste bitter and is pro b ably medicinal. I finish the contents without complaint and drift off to sleep even before father lays me back down. I feel his hand squeeze mine before I tumble down into sleep.

Chapter 5
     
    I lie awake in bed remembering her. I go to sleep and I dream about her. I drive my parents nuts every day asking about her. They seem relieved when I am able to get out of bed but are reluctant to let me ve n ture out of my room to see her. I sit on my bed as mother grooms my matted hair. She cuts out the ta n gles and brushes me until the hair is smooth again.
    “Mother, when can I see her?” I am a n xious to see Missy. She will be so happy once she wakes up.
    “Soon enough. Now, let me trim your horns.” She conti n ues to groom as I conti n ue my excited chatter. I want to know all that has happened since I went on my first assignment under Missy’s bed. Time stops for me when I’m in the human realm. I’d been with Missy most of her life but to my parents, it seems but an i n stant. Mother fields my questions as best she can then quickly finishes up, kissing my temple before leaving the room instructing me to stay. I pace, knowing father will arrive soon and explain matters to me. I don’t have to wait long. He enters my room a few minutes later and motions for me to sit. He takes up my pacing as I watch in silence until he is ready to speak.
    “Did your human give you a name?” he asks first.
    “Yes, she named me Charlie.” I am proud of my new name. I wonder if father will approve.
    “She was never afraid of you, was she? She named you as she would a friend and not like a monster at all.”
    “I think she was afraid when she was very young, but not for long. She needed a companion and I was it.” I think back through the years to our brief e x changes and how much they must have meant to both of us. How I cherished the sound of her voice and her usual response. I remember the feelings when she didn’t respond. A lump rises in my throat and an unco n trolled shudder ripples through my body.
    “Charlie, the penalty for breaking the rules is why you are weak. Once you touched the human girl, you were bound to her for life. Your strength is now tied to her strength. Bound to a human, you are now as weak as one and